In a recent article by Seth Walder of ESPN, he graded the 11-best moves of free agency so far. His top deal through the first week of free agency was the addition of Jakobi Meyers to the Las Vegas Raiders.
Walder cited several reasons why this deal was an absolute steal for the Raiders, including his production, fit, and overall contract. Here is a snippet of his thoughts on the move and why the Raiders come out as one of the biggest winners in free agency:
The wide receiver market exploded a year ago and the free agent class is pretty weak overall this season, so I assumed that Meyers — arguably the top free agent wide receiver available — would receive a major payday.
He isn’t widely regarded as a No. 1, but then again, the same could be said for Christian Kirk, who received an average of $18 million per year as a free agent in 2022. Given that, consider me shocked at how cheap Meyers came to the Raiders. Las Vegas got a steal at the most important non-QB position in the sport.
Walder would go on to talk about how well Meyers fits in the Las Vegas offense and why it’s so important to have at least three quality pass catchers in today’s NFL. And it’s hard to disagree.
Meyers is one of the most consistent and reliable receivers in the NFL and can play in the slot and on the outside. That type of versatility is exactly what the Raiders need to pair with Davante Adams and Hunter Renfrow. While you can certainly poke holes in the rest of their free-agent moves, it’s hard to be too upset about this signing.
